Pat Murphy Resigns At Arizona State

Murphy went to four College World Series, won four Pac-10 titles in 15 seasons

Keep an eye on this post. We will continue to update with new information on the Murphy story as it develops. The following starts with the official release from Arizona State and is followed by more information, including reaction from ASU players…

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University baseball coach Pat Murphy announced his resignation today. An interim head coach will assume responsibility for the program until his replacement is selected.

Former ASU Head Coach Pat Murphy

“Coach Murphy has an outstanding record of success on the playing field,” said Lisa Love, university vice president for athletics. “I thank him for 16 years of hard work and service to the university and the sport.”

Pat Murphy became ASU’s head baseball coach in August 1994. During his tenure, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, his teams took three straight Pac-10 titles, four overall, and four College World Series berths, and in 1998 he was named the National Coach of the Year.

Since the 2000 season, no other Pac-10 school has won as many games as ASU, both overall and conference games. Murphy has also had more players drafted by Major League Baseball since 1995 than any other coach in the nation.

ASU will immediately begin a national search for a new head baseball coach.

(ASU Press Release)

ASU Player Reaction

Kole Calhoun: Nobody was expecting this, and nobody thought this was gonna happen when we came in to lift this morning, but it did. We can’t do anything about it. We can just move forward.

Josh Spence: Of course we’re all a little shocked. We love the guy…I can honestly say that. He’s a great coach, and I just wanna wish him all the best for his future.

Rauol Torrez: This is a shock to everyone in the program…and it’s kinda hard to get over…to deal with right now. We’re gonna be fine and stick together and get though.

Murphy had a $300,000 annual salary that was guaranteed through 2011. ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love told the Arizona Republic that Murphy’s resignation is not directly related to a two-year investigation after allegations made by a former baseball employee.

ASU hired the Indianapolis-based legal firm Ice Miller to investigate charges that include academic fraud, improper recruiting travel, improper use of training at Athletes’ Performance and violations relating to players working for Murphy’s non-profit PTM Programs for Youth.

Love became ASU’s Athletic Director in 2005, and she has hired eight coaches during her tenture. Among them, football coach Dennis Erickson and men’s basketball coach Herb Sendek.